Mending a Broken Wing
by Wish Upon Dreams
Summary: There's only a certain amount of unhappiness that a single person can handle before they decide to close themselves off. Sometimes all it takes is a single person to change the path of someone's life. This is a story about Touka and the many people that she's met throughout her life who have helped shaped her into who she is.
1. Solemn beginnings

**Mending a Broken Wing**

**Summary**: There's only a certain amount of unhappiness that a single person can handle before they decide to close themselves off. Sometimes all it takes is a single person to change the path of someone's life. This is a story about Touka and the many people that she's met throughout her life who have helped shaped her into who she is.

**Note**: Just a fan of Tokyo Ghoul borrowing the characters to write this fanfic. Thank you to all those who read this story!

* * *

><p>She's 2 years old when her brother is born a couple of days after her own birthday. He comes into the world screaming and she startles from her nap- her tears begin not long after. After some cuddling with her father she falls asleep on the bed beside her mother.<p>

She is not cognizant but her fingers curl around those of her little brother's protectively.

xxxxx

She's 7 when she stumbles upon a rabbit in their backyard. It's so white and fluffy that she can't help but hold her hand out to touch it.

The bunny shrinks back a bit at the abrupt motion but seems to recognize the pure intentions and so approaches her to nuzzle her palm. A sudden cry from her brother startles them and they hop quickly away.

"Ayato!",she cries out,"Shhh… you have to be quieter when you approach them."

She quickly scolds him before taking him along to look for the bunny.

Her parents find them a little while later staring wonderingly at a whole family of rabbits.

That Christmas she finds a stuffed toy bunny for her. Ayato gets one as well and they both can't contain their excitement.

"It's a toy bunny!", she squeals out in happiness, "Thank you otou-san and okaa-san! I'm going to name it Floppy."

It's the start of her love of rabbits if only because she finds them really cute and cuddly.

Later on in her life she adds the fact that they are non-judgmental to the reasons why she loves them. It's also the last toy gift that she receives from her mother, Hikari, and serves as a reminder of happier days before tragedy hits them all.

xxxxx

She's 9 years old when her safety net begins to disintegrate.

It's chilly out so she's holding Floppy, it's getting late and her mother still hasn't arrived home. Her father is reading a book with her brother in his room. Normally Touka would join them but she feels too uneasy. It doesn't help that her father looks worried himself. Her only thought is that she's thankful that Ayato hasn't noticed anything amiss.

"Come home soon okaa-san.", she whispers before falling asleep that night.

It's only 2 days later when she finds out that her mother won't be coming home anymore.

That night she clings to her remaining support system and cries. Ayato promises to become stronger so he can always protect her and her father, Arata, promises that he won't leave them alone**. **A bit later, as she lies underneath a blanket knit by Hikari with a sleeping Ayato, her father gives her a ring belonging to her mother. She stares at it with a mix of wonderment and sadness.

Etched in it are her parents' names. Her father gives her a sad smile as he hands it over to her.

"It's her wedding ring. She would have wanted you to have it."

She hugs her father vowing to treasure it forever. She can feel him shaking through the hug but she stays silent and pretends that she can't feel the hot tears falling on her neck. She's had to grow up quickly in the course of the past couple of days after all.

xxxxx

She's 10, almost 11 years old when they move to another ward.

"It'll be a good change of environment.", Arata tells them with a smile, "I think we'll be happy there."

She believes him and begins looking at life with hopeful eyes once more.

They become friends with the neighbors and Arata, ever the scholar, teaches them what he knows about how to fit into society. They learn how to cook and academics so that they won't be left behind if they ever decide to go to school.

One day they stumble upon an injured bird and take them back home with them to nurse back to health.

Ayato, being the youngest, gets the privilege of naming them.

"Hey onee-chan, let's name him Chunta!", he says happily while the bird seems to chirp in agreement.

They make sure to find insects to feed him with and for a while their life is very peaceful.

If only it had stayed like that for longer.

A couple of months later, her father fails to return home after leaving during the night to collect some food for them. It reminds her too much of the situation with her mother and she realizes that she has been raising her hopes too high. Her thoughts run rampant, her emotions are everywhere and her head hurts.

_Where are you otou-san? Please don't disappear like okaa-san. What do I do?_

Outwardly she steels herself – she's the older sister and she'll protect and teach Ayato just like she promised.

She wraps her arms around her frightened brother.

"Don't worry Ayato! I'm sure otou-san will be back soon. Why don't we try reading the book together?", she gestures to one of their favorite books while trying to keep a calm composure, "We can surprise otou-san with how good we've gotten when he gets home."

Just like her mother, he never comes back home to them. Instead they are forced to flee from ghoul investigators. She's frightened and her kagune comes out for the first time that day. It's small but serves its purpose in protecting them. Her shoulder throbs as she runs with Ayato on her back but it's nothing like the pain she feels from the sudden disappearance of her father.

They hide out in an abandoned place for a week before deciding to head back to collect a couple of things. The area is surprisingly empty and she's glad that they freed Chunta before running away. She had believed that they would have surrounded the place or something but it's lucky for them. She doesn't pack much as they'll be travelling on foot, just some clothes, Floppy and her mother's wedding ring. Ayato doesn't bring much either.

As they look back for the last time Touka contemplates whether she'll ever find a place she can truly call home.

xxxxx

The next couple of years are spent travelling throughout the wards. She's said goodbye to her childish younger self and become tougher. There was no other way they would be able to survive otherwise.

For a while they're known as the feared Kirishima siblings by other ghouls due to their excellent hunting prowess.

It's during this time that they attract a lot of attention. Some of it is rather unwanted especially when they bump into Tsukiyama, also known as Gourmet, one day during their rounds.

"Ah! Magnifique!", he spouts out all haughtily, "I have finally found you siblings. Ma belle, your iciness is a thing to behold."

He waves his hands around as he talks and Touka wants to smack him in the face for interrupting their search for a meal.

"Hah! What does that even mean?", she huffs out exasperatedly.

"Ah! Well I found this interesting book the other day and it was in the French language and...", he was rambling now, " ...so I thought I'd try them out. The words looked quite elegant and to my taste. Did you know th-"

" Tch. I'm not interested at all - move out of the way you idiot!", by now all she wants to do is return home.

He fixes his attention on her and this irritates Ayato.

"Aneki, can we kill him?", Ayato asks.

She's not sure if he's serious or not but sometimes she wishes he had stayed that innocent boy who was scared of insects just a bit longer.

Nothing actually happens that day. Nor does it happen on any other day that they run into him thereafter. He always spouts similar lines in a foreign language and each time Ayato asks the same thing.

It's a bit unnerving that he seems a bit fixated on them. Ayato jokes that he's enamored with her icy personlity and that's why he likes to piss her off. She scoffs and hopes that's not the case. She's never liked standing out too much and so she sincerely hopes that one day Tsukiyama will leave them alone for good. He attracts too much attention when sometimes all she wants to do is disappear.

xxxxx

She's 14 when she finally decides to settle into the apartment that old man Yoshimura, the manager of a cafe called Anteiku, provides for them. Ayato comes with her but is decidedly bored and nonchalant about it. He's gained more of an attitude but he's still her little brother.

One night she comes home and tells him that Yoshimura has offered to pay for their schooling if she works at Anteiku. Ayato declines of course but she can't help but remember her father and his love of knowledge. She decides to take the manager up on the offer and becomes a part time waitress. Ayato scoffs about it and sulks for days.

"School is not going to help us at all aneki, _especially_ when it's learning alongside _humans_.", he spits out the word like it's something disgusting," We have to get stronger and fight against them or else we'll be killed too."

"Ayato, I believe that this is what otou-san would have wanted for us.", This much is true. They both know how much their father loved interacting with humans of similar interests.

She has trouble at first. Everything is so different from what she had imagined and it takes some getting used to. An odd girl named Yoriko approaches her one day during their free study period.

"Hi! If you want you can study with me.", she says with a bright smile, "Oh, but you don't have to of course."

She declines that day - she's still too wary of humans, even if it's what looks to be a harmless girl. Being a ghoul she knows not to judge a book by its cover and be deceived by an innocent appearance. After all, that's how many ghouls have been captured by doves.

This continues for a while until she finally gives in.

Exams are right around the corner and she hasn't had much luck with her literature class. Swallowing up her pride she decides to be the one to approach Yoriko this time around. She's sure that Yoshimura-san will ask about her results and she doesn't want to disappoint him - he's been supporting them in terms of living arrangements and funding her education after all.

She tells Ayato that while she has exams she'll be coming home a bit later than usual and that she'll be studying with her classmate.

As expected he gets mad. He doesn't take care to soften his words either.

"So now you're going to be playing friendly with the humans!? I let it go since I thought you'd come to your senses or at least keep your distance from them. Did what I say not get through to you at all?", he grinds out while shooting her an exasperated look, "You disgust me right now Aneki – they took otou-san and okaa-san away from us."

"I understand that Ayato but even at the end otou-san never hated them. He wanted us to be able to interact with all of the society including humans.", she replies, " You know I'll be cautious. Just like you I don't trust people very easily but I want to live a normal life - is that so wrong?"

He tsks and heads to his room and she resolves to talk to him again the next day after he's cooled down a bit.

Except when she wakes up the next morning he's gone.

At first she believes that he'll be back by the time she arrives home from school. It's not all that strange - he's done it before. They are siblings and after all they've been through she can't imagine him leaving without a word.

She couldn't be more wrong. Days pass and she remains alone in the apartment.

She throws herself into studying and tells herself to worry about family matters later. Even though it's not easy for her, she knows that Ayato is a strong ghoul and can handle himself. Although she knows this, it doesn't stop her from worrying. Her frustration over the situation must appear on her face because Yoshimura-san and Yomo-san, another ghoul working for Anteiku, tell her that they'll update her with any news they find.

A couple of days later they inform her of a particularly vicious ghoul wreaking havoc in the other wards. Their sources have told them that it's Ayato. Not that she doesn't suspect it - the fighting style is way too familiar, especially since she's the one who taught him how to use his kagune in the first place. When she hears this she wants nothing more to hit him on the head for worrying her but at the same time she's relieved because at least he's alive.

With her mind a bit clearer she's able to meet up with Yoriko at the ward library for the last couple of days before the exam period. At first she feels a bit of guilt for attending the study group with her classmate (it's what had caused her argument with Ayato in the first place) but after talking to Yoshimura-san she realizes she can't hide away by herself forever.

She passes literature with an okay mark. She's not all that sad about it though, she's been under a lot of stress the past couple of days and it's a subject she's sure she's not going to pursue after graduating from high school anyways.

xxxxx

The months pass by in a blur. She's begun to live the normal life she's always wanted. Nobody at school is aware that she's a ghoul and so people treat her like she's one of them - a human. She's happy but at the same time she certain that this whole facade will end one day - it _always _does.

Now that her brother has left she doesn't like staying at home too much. Sometimes she still turns around as if to ask Ayato something before realizing that he's not there anymore. She leaves his nameplate by the door. She refuses to take it down in case he ever decides to come back.

Yoriko had noticed it one day when she had come over to study. When Touka had told her that the rest of her family had gone overseas for work Yoriko had had a sad expression of her face. Touka had ignored it – she hated being pitied, but ever since then Yoriko has always prepared meals for her.

"I'm aiming to be a chef one day.", she had explained, " When I become famous you'll be able to say that you were one of the first people to try out my food!"

Even though the food tastes horrible to her, Touka still eats it. She can tell the amount of effort that Yoriko has put into making it. She supposes that they've become sort-of friends now. She's never had a friend before and a lot of the time can still be quite snappy but she's glad to have someone to talk to all the same.

Although she's sure that Yoriko also treasures their tentative friendship, the thought that she could one day be betrayed by said friend lingers in the back of her mind all the time.

xxxxx

She's 15 and she spends her birthday working and sparring with Yomo-san. The doves have been increasing their activity in the other wards and she thinks that it's only a bit of time before they arrive at the 20th ward. She needs to be prepared for that eventuality. Luckily her trainer is also an ukaku and gives her some useful fighting tips.

Yomo-san can be a very intimidating and always tends to observe others but she believes that he is inherently kind. He may be silent a lot of the time but she can't deny that he is a strong ghoul. She's never won a fight against him and that's why she is grateful that he's teaching her how to fight.

She's sure that knowing how to fight will be the only way to protect those she cares about. She knows that the doves will come for them someday and even though she's scared, she's determined not to stay idle.

She finds it ironic that her mask is in the shape of a rabbit considering they're pure animals who wouldn't even think of fighting but Yomo-san tells her that Uta-san, the mask maker, has a knack for making masks that match a ghouls' personality.

She scoffs at the idea of course; circumstances have molded her into someone completely different from whom she imagined she'd be when she was younger. Sometimes she doesn't even know who she is anymore. Maybe the girl of that time would have been worthy of the pure white rabbit mask.

It's as she's thinking like this that Yomo-san offers her a piece of advice.

"Follow your own path.", he says, "Nothing is too late until you believe it to be so."

She finds comfort in the words and that night, for the first time in a long while, she has pleasant dreams of a world where she has a family again.

The next day, she's back to her sarcastic self but nobody's surprised. Sometimes change doesn't occur that quickly.

Other times though, a catalyst might be just around the corner.


	2. Chance encounters

**Chapter 2: **

**Authors Note**: Just a fan of Tokyo Ghoul borrowing the characters to write this fanfic. Thank you to all those who read the story and to those who reviewed in the last chapter. I appreciated hearing your feedback. Also, I just want to say sorry in advance for any mistakes in regards to the timeline (I may end up altering the ages of the characters when certain events occur in my fic without realizing it) and have thus decided to classify this as a semi-AU story in case this does occur.

As always, thank you for reading the fanfic and I hope you enjoy! :)

xxxxx

Touka is 16, it's a sunny day in April and she is just starting her second year in high school when _he_ first steps into Anteiku. He doesn't stand out too much with his baby face and book but she's wary all the same – he's a newcomer and even worse, he's a _human_.

She may not completely hate humans but she does hate the fact that she has to keep her guard up while around them.

She surreptitiously surveys the other customers in the cafe – they're all ghouls and she's sure that if this _boy _knew that he'd stepped into the lion's den by coming into the shop then he'd turn tail and run immediately.

While many ghouls would see this as an act of cowardice, she's pretty sure that humans would describe it as having common sense. It's a rare person who is brave enough to willingly walk to their imminent death.

She watches as he trips on his way to a table and sighs. Not only is he a human, he appears to be a very clumsy one. She plasters a smile on her face before nodding at Irimi-san to indicate she'd take his order.

She examines him a bit more while approaching his table.

He appears to be the ideal meal for any ghoul - he's not terribly skinny and doesn't have too much fat on him. He also appears to be around her age so there's no need to worry about disgusting old man meat (which, while tolerable, has the common consensus of having a really horrible texture to ghouls). She can't complain though, she needs to eat the meat to survive after all.

No, she won't actually actively hunt him but that doesn't mean that she will show him any sympathy either.

Humans, she decides, have it lucky in that they have such a variety of foods to choose from. She therefore finds it very vexing hearing many of them complain about it. She speculates that if they were to suddenly find themselves as a ghoul they wouldn't be able to cope at all.

Sometimes she looks at the food that humans eat and imagines what it tastes like.

Does the whipping cream she puts in hot chocolate taste light and fluffy or would it not have any taste at all? She's heard that it's the former option but she still wants to have the power to judge that for herself.

She finally reaches the table and elects to delay her train of thoughts for another time.

"Welcome to Anteiku! What can I get for you today?", she asks politely with a notepad in hand.

He looks up from his book with a sheepish grin and orders one of the sandwiches on display and a mocha latte.

She's glad that he orders a drink she's familiar with making instead of one of the mixed juices. She still needs a bit more practice before she's able to make that type of drink taste good.

Her prior attempt at making a mixed fruit blend had Yoriko coughing non-stop for a very long time.

"Touka-chan, I'm sorry I wasn't able to finish the drink. I'm sure next time it'll be perfect, you just need to add more sugar." Yoriko had explained afterwards with her normal bright smile.

Still, Touka shudders to think what her next attempt will bring. Right now she's firm in her decision to stick to solely making coffee. At least that way she can try it herself before serving it to others.

She makes her lattes as she always does - with her signature rabbit drawing. She doesn't care if people think it's out of character for her. She's never been one to follow the grind. Besides, it calms her down.

She hands him his order and receives a compliment on her drawing in return. She nods and gives him a smile but inwardly feels like gritting her teeth. He annoys her with his innocence - she wishes she could be as carefree as he is.

Maybe it's just because she's in a bad mood on that day because while she's glad for the business he provides Anteiku, she still wishes that this will be his only visit to the shop. She would be grateful to have a bit of peace in her life without having to put on a facade all the time.

xxxxx

Reports of murders happening in the area have begun to surface and Touka finds that there's too much attention being placed on the 20th ward.

The cause of the entire ruckus is a ghoul by the name of Kamishiro Rize. She's one of the more recent ghouls frequenting the quiet 20th ward but has succeeded in creating the most amount of chaos in the limited amount of time that she's been there. The alias given to her by the CCG is Binge Eater which doesn't match her appearance at all. If only they knew the truth - that the ghoul has the appearance of a highly attractive female. Touka supposes that's why she's been able to easily prey on so many humans. She hates to admit it but even she had been fooled by Rize in the beginning as well.

When Rize had first walked into Anteiku she had the air of being someone docile, refined and quiet. There hadn't been too many customers at the time but there was still a noticeable reduction of noise in the tiny shop as everyone had stared at the beautiful newcomer. The chatter had continued soon after but there were many interested looks shot at the purple haired woman for the duration of her stay at the cafe that day. Touka had never been good at things like attraction or blatant admiration and so she's not sure that she would have been able to handle all the attention in that same situation.

It doesn't take long for her perception of Rize to change.

It's only a couple of weeks down the line that Touka finds out the full truth about her personality from Yoshimura-san and promptly makes the decision to confront her.

Normally she wouldn't go out of her way to explain the rules of the ward herself (usually many of their regular ghoul customers will take it upon themselves to educate the newcomers) but she worries that the sheer number of recent murders will attract the doves. She's sure that it is best that she does it as soon as possible - she feels that it will only be a small matter of time before they might find out about Anteiku and she can't have that happen.

Touka finally has the chance as she's heading to the cafe for her shift a couple of days later. She has a whole speech in her head about the do's and do not's of the ward and begins to lay it out in a hurry.

It does not go the way she expects it to.

The encounter ends with a hysterically laughing Rize and an annoyed Touka. The promise that she will "try" to tone down her number of kills rings false to the ukaku ghoul and if there is one thing she hates, it's when people lie to her.

Her foul mood is still in effect when she walks into Anteiku and it takes a talk with Yomo-san to help cool her head.

"Let it go Touka.", he says to her during their sparring session that day, "Hatred is not the solution. Leave it to us adults if it gets out of hand"

She scoffs at being treated like a kid but knows that they have more experience than her. She has faith that they'll be able to stop Rize if it comes down to it. By the end of the night she's agreed to try to look away from Rize's activities and to not interfere with her.

She's not sure if it was the right choice for her to make.

xxxxx

The human book lover (it's what she's begun calling him in her mind – she doesn't care to know his actual name and she's sure that she's never going to need to know it anyways) starts coming in more frequently as the months progress. At first she thinks it's because of the coffee but soon retracts that thought. It's obvious, from the smitten glances he throws Rize when he thinks no one is looking, that he harbors a crush.

If she were to be honest then she would have to say that it's embarrassing to watch sometimes. In the past couple of weeks Touka has seen him spill his coffee, choke on his coffee and turn completely red in the face courtesy of a smile from Rize.

So far she's lived her life without developing romantic feelings for anyone and, after seeing how it can turn a rational person into a sappy idiot, she's glad that she hasn't.

xxxxx

She's just turned 17 and he's brought a friend along with him this time. Just by looking at them she can tell that they have such different personalities that, for a moment, she wonders why they're friends. That thought is fleeting as she realizes that the same could be said about her friendship with Yoriko.

Just as she had analyzed them, she can feel their eyes on her as she helps the other people in the cafe and she has to make sure not to tense up.

They call her over not long after.

She approaches their table and is taken aback by the abrupt inquisition about her relationship status before she can even ask for their order. It always surprises her that there are people who can be so straightforward with their intentions. She surmises that humans can be scary in more ways than one. She hurries on off as soon as they actually do order something but not before she can hear the book lover berate his friend about his actions.

"Hide- you'll get us kicked out! What am I going to do if that happens? This is the only place that I can see h-."

He stops talking abruptly and all it takes is one glance at the customer gliding through the door to understand why.

She doesn't hear much of the rest of their conversation but she can guess the topic by his red cheeks and the uncontrollable laughing from the male dubbed as Hide.

She opts to ignore them as she tends to cleaning a spill.

She doesn't care to meddle and she certainly won't be playing matchmaker for them.

It's not too long afterwards that Hide leaves. He's annoyingly exuberant as he waves goodbye with a promise to return again.

Her shift ends early and, before she leaves, she happens to catch Rize and the book lover chatting at a table. He has such a happy smile on his face that she feels a bit of pity for him. She's positive that the feelings will only be one-sided on his part. It's obvious, to her at least, that he's Rize's next prey.

Touka's hunch grows stronger the next day when she passes by them on her way home from school with Yoriko. The smug grin and knowing wink shot in her direction by her fellow ghoul pretty much confirms it. She pauses for a minute before continuing to walk.

He has no clue what's coming but she recalls the promise she made to Yomo-san about not getting involved and it's really none of her business anyway.

xxxxx

Business has been slowing at Anteiku and Touka's stress levels are rising just thinking about her classes in school.

It may be late at night but the need to clear her mind is greater.

In instances like these she finds it's nice to embark on a mini stroll.

She doesn't get very far before she's harassed by a drunk man who doesn't seem to take no for an answer. It makes her glad that she's a ghoul and therefore able to take care of herself and not some poor defenseless human girl. She imagines Yoriko in her place and finds herself flaring up angrily.

He's being overwhelmingly pushy and she finds she doesn't have a large amount of patience left in her. She doesn't have any plans to kill him though - all she wants to do is get away. It's only when he addresses the hooded newcomer by referring to them as a monster that she's finally had enough. Those words rub her the wrong way and she subsequently kills him - it's a drastic move but she justifies it as removing a piece of trash from the world.

It's a quick and (relatively) clean kill but she's still morose about having to do it. She doesn't need to eat any meat at the moment but decides to take the arm in case she needs it on another occasion. If not then she can always hand it over to the manager - there are plenty of ghouls out there who would appreciate not having to hunt for the meat. She's so absorbed in her thoughts that for a minute she forgets about the other figure present at the scene.

It's only when she hears an audible gulp that she looks up.

"What? Do you want this?", she asks proffering the arm.

She receives no reply.

"Well? Hurry up, do you want this or not?", she says brusquely. All she wants to do now is leave. "I don't have all night you know."

Touka tries to peer under their hood. She's sure that she's never seen this ghoul before.

The figure shrinks back at her sudden movement.

"Are you okay?", she continues in the same tone, " You're not going to eat?"

Still no response.

She remains puzzled at the odd behavior until a ray of moonlight highlights the face under the hood.

The first thing she takes note of is the single glowing red eye accompanied by a grey one.

The next thing she notices is that it's the same face as the book lover that frequents the cafe.

_Wait... what?! I could have sworn that I saw him walking with Rize not too long ago. I was so sure that he was her target._

It takes her a minute to reorganize her rampant thoughts into words that can be voiced aloud.

"How are you still alive?", she inquires, "Why weren't you eaten?"

She's still staring confusedly at him trying to figure out how he could possibly be standing there in front of her when he suddenly takes off screaming.

She heads home unsettled and a little pissed off. What was originally supposed to be a calming walk turns into the exact opposite.

xxxxx

She sees him again not long after.

He drops by Anteiku after the shop closes. This time he carries himself differently and appears more resigned. He begs for her help and even though she still feels pissed off at him for his actions at their last meeting, she can't help but feel the slightest twinge of compassion for him.

She's still contemplating what to do when she freezes at what he says next.

"Ever since I've had this body everything has been terrible."

_He's an idiot_, she thinks as any empathy she may have had for him disappears abruptly.

She wonders if he even realizes how hurtful he's being at the moment. There is no way that she's going to help him if he has an attitude like that. Why should she anyways? She's had enough time to think on it and has come to the conclusion that he was a former human. Even if he's a ghoul now, to her, he's still not one of them.

While Touka had understood that they were different before, she had not taken the time to think about what it actually meant until this moment. The sudden realization upsets her and she can't help but erupt in a flurry of pained words.

"No, I won't help you. Are you kidding me?! ", she screams out angrily, "I bet you've never had to live in fear of the CCG or other ghouls gone insane."

He doesn't say a word choosing instead to sit there. His lack of response enrages her even more and she advances on him.

"If you think everything has been terrible for you then what about me, huh? For me, it's been terrible since I was born."

She gives him a glare intending to leave him there when a sudden cough breaks the heavy atmosphere. She whirls around to see the manager.

"That's enough for now Touka-chan", he says with his normal calm tone.

She watches as the manager helps the idiot boy with disbelieving eyes unable to understand his decision. She presumes that he's looking at the boy as if he's a ghoul and not as a previous human (something that she's having a hard time doing after he inadvertently called their ways of living terrible). He confirms her presumption and then proceeds to remind her of the cafes policy to help their fellow ghouls which leaves her feeling properly chastised.

They lead him down to the refrigerator where he proceeds to receive human meat with a nervous expression. She's sure that he's going to have trouble eating it but at least he'll have it with him just in case.

She scrutinizes him as he walks away.

_He's lucky that the manager is very kind._

After he's gone she broaches the subject with the manager.

She's slightly surprised by what she hears although it helps her piece together the final parts of the puzzle. That night when she had seen the two together, Rize had tried to eat him but instead had gotten crushed by beams and had her organs transplanted into the boy. That explains why she hasn't seen Rize recently. It also explains the predicament the boy now finds himself in.

Yoshimura-san also elaborates on the fact that this former human is a victim in his own rights and she lets up a little bit. She knows all too well what it's like to be a victim and have your life shaken up in an instant. Before heading home that night she makes a promise to the manager that she'll keep an eye out for him for a little while.

She still has her reservations but she'll try to put them aside. If that book lover thinks that she'll take it easy on him though, then he's got another thing coming.


End file.
